Artist: THE SISTERS OF MERCY
Album: FIRST AND LAST AND ALWAYS EXPANDED & REMASTERED (DIGI)

Release date: 1985/ 2006
EAN/UPS: 05051011757921
Media type: CD

The Sisters Of Mercy's debut, 1985's FIRST AND LAST AND ALWAYS, is the definitive goth record. Combining the filtered punk-inspired angst and fury of Bauhaus, a machine-honed brittleness, and the literate dourness of artists like Leonard Cohen (whose songs are referenced in both the Sisters' lyrics and by their name), it's an amazingly solid album. Highlights include "Marian (Version)" and "Some Kind of Stranger"; on the first, Andrew Eldritch's vocals (about half of which are in German) are felt rather than heard, an effect accentuated by crystalline guitar notes. The latter song is arguably the most spectacularly gloomy song that the goth movement ever produced--nearly seven and a half minutes of soaring keyboards, morose, tortured vocals, and aching, brittle guitars. Fans might wish to note the album's 1992 remastering cleans up the sound quality significantly, but whichever version you hear, this album is an extraordinary document.

2006 issued digitally remastered edition of the 1985 goth rock classic remains unequaled in the genre, permanently esconced on top of a pedestal from which it cannot be toppled. From the opening claustrophobia of "Black Planet" to the melancholy "No Time to Cry," Eldritch continually assured listeners that "everything's gonna be alright". Continuing with the bass-driven guitar gem "Possession" and the closing "Some Kind of Stranger", an untouchable epic that, clocking in at over seven minutes, is the best of its kind. "Some Kind of Stranger" became a "love song" for the goth crowd. Copied to death, its brilliance has never been replicated. This edition was remastered from the original multitracks and sounds better than ever before, augmented by six non-LP b-sides plus "Some Kind Of Stranger (Early)", a previously unissued track from the album sessions.

TRACKLIST:

1. Black Planet
2. Walk Away
3. No Time To Cry
4. A Rock And A Hard Place
5. Marian (Version)
6. First And Last And Always
7. Possession
8. Nine While Nine
9. Amphetamine Logic
10. Some Kind Of Stranger

Bonus Tracks :
11. Poison Door
12. On The Wire
13. Blood Money
14. Bury Me Deep
15. Long Train
16. Some Kind Of Stranger [Early] [Previously Unreleased]

LINE-UP:

Andrew Eldritch (vocals, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, programming)
Wayne Hussey (guitar, background vocals)
Craig Adams (guitar)
Gary Marx (bass)